Outer ring - who uses and what are your findings

Complete waste of time and a lot of money. Best way to flatten records is an SME style of system. Screw on clamp with a specially shipped bottom and a washer under the record. After getting my Model 10, I no longer worry about warped records. 

@lewm SME is not just a center clamp/weight. It shapes the record to the platter. You should know better.

@brf That’s not how SME works. SME system flattens a bolw shape warped record on either side. Surface of the platter and the bottom of the clamp are machined to a specific geometry. There’s a metal disc that is placed under the record. Once the clamp is threaded on, one can adjust the force to where the record is perfectly shaped to the platter. Insanely warped records become flat like glass on the SME. You guys really need to know what you’re talking about before posting. 

The ring system on the other hand is a cumbersome nonsense. It needs to be very heavy to work properly. You guys are not only wasting your money and time during every record change, but are also changing the properties of your platter and are possibly ruining your bearings. 

@brf There is no collet on the SME. I clearly explained how it works. As I told you in the other thread, please take the trolling elsewhere. 

I own an SME Model 10 as well as Michell Gyro SE. Michell’s clamping system works fine, but SME’s is state of the art. If a record can’t be flattened by SME, it should be tossed into the garbage and life goes on. It would have to be visibly warped and severely rippled on the edge. No one should be buying a record like that to begin with. No periphery ring will fix that. 

But regular edge warps are easily fixed by SME. As the clamp is threaded, the outer part of the record gets bowed towards and pressed against the platter.